PARIS, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- The French National Assembly approved a bill Thursday that would make denying the Turkish genocide of Armenians during World War I a crime.
The proposed law carries the same penalties as the one on Holocaust denial of up to a year's imprisonment and a 45,000 euro ($56,500) fine, the BBC reported.
The legislation still must be approved by the Senate and the president before it could become law.
The bill has already strained France's relationship with Turkey. Turkey's official line is that as the Ottoman Empire fell apart, Turks and Armenians warred with each other, with significant casualties on both sides.
"Turkish-French relations, which have been meticulously developed over the centuries, took a severe blow today through the irresponsible initiatives of some short-sighted French politicians, based on unfounded allegations," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The bill, sponsored by the minority Socialist Party, passed 106 to 19, the BBC said. The Union for a Popular Movement allowed its representatives in parliament to vote as they wished.
